17 June 2008

Michael's Pizza

Michael's Pizza is a Westerville destination for a number of reasons. I dig it because it was one of the first restaurants to serve alcohol when Westerville finally voted down their longstanding prohibition initiative.

The beer and wine is just window dressing to well made thin crust pizza and traditional Italian offerings, however. Pizza Mike was recognized as making the best pizza in the U.S.A. at the World Pizza Championships in Italy. I would have figured that this was a fake award, except for the fact that Avalanche Pizza in Athens (another great pizza shop) also won this award, so the award seems to be a pretty good indicator of quality.

The pizza has a fantastic crust I would describe as similar to a puffy flatbread. It is neither traditionally crispy of outright chewy--it is a happy medium between the two.

The tomato sauce is tangy and definitely not from a can. The toppings are also high quality, from the button mushrooms to the green peppers to the sweet, mild onions. The cheese is a blend of Romano and provolone, and each pizza is topped with additional grated cheese and spices.

The side dishes are also very good. The cheese sticks were very tasty. The menu also offers a few other vegetarian appetizers, a veggie sub and a few assorted pasta dishes.